Port Wine

First Taste: Scion Pre-Phylloxera Port

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

As the room of tasters, a veritable varsity squad of New York wine writers, took their respective places, the publicist for Portuguese port house, Taylor Fladgate, announced that this was a first: not a single invitation offered to the morning's event had been declined. It wasn't out of courtesy. The 17th-century port purveyor was here at Manhattan's Eleven Madison Park to taste through its line-up of vintage and tawny ports, culminating in a rare treat, an 1855 pre-Phylloxera port called Scion.

Christie's Head of Wine-Asia, Charles Curtis MW, made some opening remarks about Taylor Fladgate, port wine and the auction market before handing the host duties over to Adrian Bridge. The CEO of Taylor Fladgate, Bridge cut an English gentleman's mien as he guided the assembled group through such bottlings as a vintage 1992 (sweet and earthy with slightly tannic finish), vintage 2003 (like a big Cabernet, with dark fruit and a huge nose) and a 30-year-old tawny (fig cookie, bitter orange and lightly floral).

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